Sun presidential endorsements 1884-2012 [Pictures]

In what appears to be The Sun's first formal presidential endorsement, the paper backed Grover Cleveland in 1884. He was a conservative Democrat in a pragmatic mold that the paper's owners, the Abell family, appreciated. The Abells and the president eventually became close friends.

In what appears to be The Sun's first formal presidential endorsement, the paper backed Grover Cleveland in 1884. He was a conservative Democrat in a pragmatic mold that the paper's owners, the Abell family, appreciated. The Abells and the president eventually became close friends. (Baltimore Sun)

The Sun stuck with President Cleveland in 1888, but he lost to Benjamin Harrison (pictured). Cleveland won the popular vote and carried all of the states in the South, but Harrison, running on a protectionist platform that appealed to industrial states, carried the Northeast, Midwest and West.

The Sun stuck with President Cleveland in 1888, but he lost to Benjamin Harrison (pictured). Cleveland won the popular vote and carried all of the states in the South, but Harrison, running on a protectionist platform that appealed to industrial states, carried the Northeast, Midwest and West. (UNKNOWN, Baltimore Sun)